Summer Inn
by Dark Inklings
Summary: Best friends Naruto and Sakura run an inn on the countryside. Sasuke, Sai, and Hinata are city kids going on tour with Sasuke's band in LA. What happens when the city kids crash their car and are forced to stay at the inn until help arrives?
1. Episode 1: The Inn and the Out

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters...still wishing I did...**

**AN: This chapter has a lot of humor and drama, even a little horror mixed in. You'll see.**

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_Summer Inn_

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**Episode 01: The Inn and the Out**

The young inn keeper wore a red and white traditional kimono as her fingers stayed firmly planted on the broom handle, making it sway side-to-side in effort to clean the dirt off the wooden porch. Sakura Haruno hummed joyfully to herself, sweeping to the rhythm, her pink locks still held firmly above her head in a messy bun. Her sleeves were rolled up, seeing as to how it was the middle of June, her feet dressed in light sandals.

Her emerald eyes gazed out at the open grassy plain ahead, a small, measly dirt road winding through, leading to the small inn she managed with her best friend on the country side. A grassy field surrounded the small wooden inn that wasn't even two-stories tall. It had four rooms, six including the two that Sakura and her friend stayed in.

Sighing, Sakura wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, smiling up to the blue sky.

_Another thing you don't see in the city. _

"Sakura-chan!" a voice shouted from the cabin. A blonde teen came rushing out, his beach blonde spikes still messy, as usual, his cerulean eyes gleaming with pride. His skin was tan, three whisker like birthmarks on both sides of his cheeks, and a large grin on his face, making it looked inhumanly stretched out even more than usual. The teen's white teeth gleamed, blinding Sakura when the sun lit the rows of teeth.

"What Naruto?" Sakura snapped.

_It better not be something stupid again._

"There's a snake in the kitchen," Naruto said, not freaking out but it was more along the lines of he was _informing _Sakura to this matter.

The pink haired girl sighed. _He's hopeless. _She resisted the urge to kick him where the sun don't shine.

"Well get it out, use the broom in the kitchen," Sakura gritted out.

"Oh yeah, thanks Sakura-chan." With that, the one and only clueless Naruto Uzumaki rushed back in.

All that was heard a minute later was Naruto yelling, the snake hissing, and the broom making contact with a hard surface.

_I didn't say kill the thing Naruto. _Sakura sighed again, returning to sweeping the porch.

_Naruto and I have been friends since childhood. Even our parents were friends but when his parents passed away in an accident, it was my family that took him in. We were seven at the time. Our home in Sacramento, California is like any other city, crowded and polluted. My family owns this inn and since we turned sixteen, they decided to send us here for the summer. Like a summer getaway I suppose. So until August 17, we get to stay here and run the place. But since there hasn't been a customer for years, we just get to live here. The nearest store is about a fifteen minute drive from here and yes, we do have a car. Naruto failed his driving test so many times that he still hasn't received his license so I'm the designated driver. Then again, I don't see what's so great about driving a rundown pickup truck._

_I was all for coming here and Naruto was too since all he really liked was the TV, which the inn has, so he's fine. I'm more of a book person myself and I brought a bag full of novels with me. Other than that, we've been sitting around, cleaning up the place best we could, and chatting about being juniors next year. _

Naruto interrupted Sakura's thoughts when he came back out without the broom. "Where's the shovel?"

"Why do you need the shovel?" Sakura asked, raising a pink brow.

"I sort of smashed the snake on the kitchen floor," he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ew, the shovel is in the garage, by the truck and make sure you scrub the floor with soap afterwards. I'd prefer to have a decently smelling inn," Sakura said.

"Thanks." He went back inside through the wooden front door to go into the small one-car garage to pull out the shovel.

Sakura shook her head, muttering, "Baka."

The cleaning had been going on for the past week. Since no one had come to the inn for a year, dust had gradually gathered up, cobwebs scattered throughout the place, sheets dirty, and the furniture looked mummified. Apparently, there was food leftover from last year, expired and rotting, smelling like a carcass. After the constant dusting, scrubbing, sweeping, washing, drying, and exterminating, the place was finally decent.

"Done," Sakura told herself, going inside to put the broom away in the garage.

The walls were wooden, same with the floors but a large red rug was slid over it for the sake of the aged coffee table, large TV, orange, torn up sofa, and two black rocking chairs. The kitchen was small, with stainless steel interior meaning the fridge and stove while the cupboards were wooden, scattered throughout the area.

Every bedroom looked no different than the other, all running down the same hallway. They all had green bed sheets, a wooden nightstand with a touch lamp, and a green rug in the center of the floor. Also, there were small closets included.

As for the garage, it was cluttered with tools used to clean, most dirty at the moment. The washer was in there but clothes had to be hung to dry in the widespread backyard on a clothesline and whenever Naruto stared at Sakura's underwear, she slapped him upside the head.

After putting the broom away, Sakura went back to the kitchen to spy on Naruto's progress in scrubbing the floor. And there he was, in an orange and blue kimono himself, on his knees, scrubbing the floor quickly, a bucket of reddened water beside him.

"Having fun?" Sakura teased.

Naruto looked up, his eyes narrowed. "No shit," he muttered.

"What was that?" Sakura asked, raising up her fist. She wouldn't tolerate foul language, especially from her best, idiotic friend.

"N-Nothing," Naruto stuttered, snapping his head back to the floor, scrubbing intently and fearfully.

"That's what I thought. So, what do you want for lunch?" Sakura asked, her frightening expression transforming into a cheerful one as she walked past Naruto into the kitchen, going to the fridge.

"Ramen!" Naruto grinned.

"Besides that," Sakura said, knowing that's what he would say. _The guy could probably live off the stuff. _

"Aw," Naruto groaned, his smile disappearing. Now he was pouting.

"I guess you don't want lunch then," Sakura smirked.

"N-No! I'll have whatever you're having!" Naruto quickly said.

_That gets him every time._

"'Kay, then you're having a hamburger and fries," Sakura said as she started to get out the ingredients.

"Sounds good to me," Naruto grinned as he continued scrubbing.

"Anything that's edible is good to you Naruto," Sakura chuckled, turning on the stove, putting in two slices of meat in the pan.

"No! I don't like broccoli," Naruto stated.

"You don't like vegetables unless they're _in _ramen," Sakura corrected.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something but shut it when he realized he couldn't top that. He stubbornly shut his mouth, grumbling to himself as he scrubbed.

_That's better._

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"Mm, 'akura 'his is real good," Naruto said with his mouth full, praising the taste of the delectable hamburger he had just bitten into.

"Thank you."

The two were seated at the tile counter, eating away. Ketchup covered the fries and oozed out of the hamburger as Naruto took another bite.

_I've never seen Naruto cry…not even when his parents died… He's so strong…_

Sakura gazed at her best friend who was now munching on the fries.

"Hey Naruto, do you want to go for a walk later on?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm?" Naruto looked up, a fry hanging from his lips.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Sakura repeated.

"Sure Sakura-chan!" The fry fell from his lips, half of it gone, plopping back on his plate.

"That's disgusting Naruto," Sakura pointed out.

The blonde merely grinned, showing a mouthful of food, making Sakura gag. _He can be so immature!_

_I still remember how we met…_

_Flashback_

"_Sakura, honey, can you pick me some flowers from the field?" her mother asked from the kitchen as she busied herself with preparing the next meal. Her eyes, a shade of forest green complimented her light red locks that draped down her back in gentle curls._

_The Haruno family had just settled into their new home by the countryside in Japan. They were planning to move to California, in the USA, in a few years for business purposes but that was a long way from happening. So far, in the five years that Sakura existed, her family had moved seven times._

_A tiny pink-haired child appeared from the other room. "Yes, Mommy." With that, the child slipped into a pair of sneakers and ran outside to the field, her short hair still compacted in a small ponytail._

_Her mom wanted flowers for the arrangement that would go on the dinner table for the day's small party. Today was her father's birthday and, for a change, he was coming home. Being a businessman who owned an expensive branch of hotels required a lot of traveling for him. Taking this branch to the US was going to be a long process and his family would have to move again. He was leaving Japan's branch to another person, relocating to the US for more business hopefully, in which he luckily got._

_Sakura raised her arms out…as if she was flying, weaving through the large blades of glass, smiling and laughing all the while. Eventually, she found the small spot where the flowers grew in secret, blooming only once a year. Lucky for her, they were in full bloom. _

_Giggling, she kneeled down, gazing in wonder at the Cosmos and Daffodils. _

"_My mommy says I'm still blooming into a Cosmos. Will I be as pretty as you?" Sakura asked the small Cosmos flower. _

_Her fingers wrapped around the green stem, tugging the flowers one by one out of the ground, keeping them in her open hand._

_Soon enough, the flowers were gone, all gathered in her hands. The little girl stood up and toddled off, skipping through the field gleefully, humming a song her mother sung to her._

_Something rustled quickly through the grass, circling around Sakura who had stopped by now, shaking in fear._

"_W-Who's t-there?" she stuttered, completely frozen in place._

_No one responded, instead, a hand reached out and tugged on Sakura's pink ponytail. The pink-haired child whirled around in her pink floral dress, her eyes brimming with tears. To her amazement, a the sight of a little blonde boy about her age stood in front of her rather than a man-eating beast who gobbled up the children who didn't brush their teeth. Thank Sakura's dad for putting that thought in her head in a poor attempt to get her to brush her teeth on her own._

"_Hi there!" the boy grinned, showing a row of baby teeth, excluding the gap where he had bit into the wooden railing of the staircase and pulled out one of his teeth. _

_Sakura sniffled and begun to cry hysterically._

"_Oh no, don't cry!" the boy tried to comfort her. His attempts were futile. "Um, here!" He pulled out a twig with cherry blossoms blooming on its edges._

_Sakura's crying ceased as she took the twig from his, studying it curiously. She had seen something like this before but only on trees._

"_It's a stick."_

"_No! Look, it has flowers. My dad told me that they're called cherry blossoms and they come before leaves," the boy said as a matter-of-factly._

_Sakura looked back at the twig and realized that he was right. "That's what my name means," Sakura whispered to herself._

"_Huh?"_

"_My name is Sakura which means cherry blossom."_

"_Oh!" Naruto gaped, realization setting in._

"_What's your name?"_

"_Me? My name's Naruto Uzumaki, believe it!" Naruto proudly introduced, giving her a thumbs up._

_Sakura couldn't help but giggle at the boy's antics._

"_Hey," he wailed, "what's so funny?"_

"_You," Sakura giggled._

_Naruto narrowed his eyes and decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. "Yeah, well, you're hair's pink."_

_She stopped laughing. "Hey, that's not nice!"_

_Naruto stuck out his tongue, taking off in a full sprint. Steam erupted from Sakura's ear as she filled her cheeks with air, pouting. Then she took off after him._

"_I wasn't done talking to you!"_

_Even though they started out rocky, the two grew close and the fact that Sakura's and Naruto's were friends in high school helped them grow closer like brother and sister. Sakura didn't move until Naruto's parents died and that's when the two became adopted siblings._

_End Flashback_

"Hey Sakura-chan, why are you smiling?" Naruto asked.

Sakura snapped out of her daze, her eyes quickly snapping to Naruto. His plate was completely empty, clean even. Then again, the only time Sakura could get something clean at all was from his finished meal containers.

Then he popped the question. "Can I have seconds?"

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"Hello? Yes, this is Sasuke Uchiha, what of it? I need to speak to Itachi Uchiha? Yes. Hello?" the raven-haired teen slammed his black cell shut, pitching it out the window into some random bush.

He concentrated on what was ahead, his hands plated on the wheel. It was quite obvious that he was upset about losing his signal yet again and he was sick of this place already.

"Sasuke-kun, a-are you a-alright?" the girl in the back stuttered. Her black blue hair flowed down her back and she had the most brilliant colored irises. They were clear which meant she was a Hyuga. Nonetheless, she was the heir, Hinata Hyuga, of the famous Hyuga family real-estate agency. In other words, they were filthy stinking rich but as shy as she was, Hinata would never make it in the business so her older cousin Neji was being considered as the heir instead.

Sasuke Uchiha and his elder brother, Itachi Uchiha, were both rich. Sasuke was the vocals for the rock band _Raven_, making millions, selling out, and busying himself with concerts while Itachi made profit from managing the group. Sasuke was very technology oriented, not an outdoorsman in the least, and could not go two seconds without something manmade. Itachi was the same way but was a bit less temperamental than his brother but they both had issues with telling others how they felt, emotionless in a way.

"He's just a bastard with a stick up his ass," Sai said, bored obviously. Sai, Sasuke's twin brother, played guitar in the band. He was artistic and lied often and like the other two, pretty much emotionless.

"Shut up," Sasuke growled, not even bothering to look at his twin, keeping his eyes on the empty road ahead.

The three had taken a plane from New York and purchased a car in Nevada, a blue Mercedes to be exact, driving to LA to meet up with Itachi and Neji for the summer since they were on tour. Neji, who played bass guitar for _Raven_ as well as being the Hyuga heir, was already there since last May and Shikamaru, who played keyboard, with his girlfriend Ino, were also there. The drummer, Deidara, was there as well with his best friend/actor Sasori.

Hinata was along for the ride because her father refused to let her stay alone in the mansion all summer. He didn't trust the maids or any of the workers so he decided to have Neji watch her for the time being seeing as to how he was in Europe for business purposes while Neji was in California on tour and bringing along other non-band members wasn't outlawed.

Sai shrugged, looking back out the window, wishing this trip would be over with. The only reason they were driving the rest of the way was because they had to pick of Hinata in Nevada.

At least Sasuke and Sai were seventeen, unlike Hinata who was only fifteen, and had valid driving licenses.

"Sai-kun, h-how long is the tour?" Hinata asked.

The younger twin looked back at the timid girl, no signs of emotion written on his face, making his mood hard to read. "Until summer break ends, August 17."

"O-Oh." Hinata went back to twiddling her thumbs nervously in the back. These two made her so nervous with their intimidating personalities.

A few moments passed by before Sai returned his gaze to the road ahead. "We haven't seen a car for hours."

"Obviously," Sasuke grunted, keeping his eyes forward.

"Any reason why that is?"

"None that I know of," Sasuke answered, not seeing a point to his pointless questions.

"M-Maybe the locals know," Hinata said, stumbling over her own words.

"Do you see any locals?" Sasuke asked.

"N-No."

"Then don't ask." With that, the car was engulfed in a tense silence and no conversation was shared until later on that day.

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"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan," Naruto wailed as he held the flashlight lazily in his hands, "why are we walking in the fields in the middle of the night?"

"Don't complain Naruto, you promised me we'd take a stroll," Sakura said simply, staying a pace behind him.

"But it's late, I wanna watch TV," Naruto complained.

_I swear, he acts so immature sometimes._

"You have all summer to watch TV, just enjoy the view we have. Look at the stars." The two directed their gaze to the dark sky above them, taking in the sight of the thousands of twinkling splotches called stars hanging over their heads.

"Wow! I've never seen so many stars before!" Naruto said in pure awe.

"That's because the city lights are too bright and overpower the stars," Sakura stated, looking at Naruto for a brief second, smiling.

"Well, that sucks," Naruto grunted, looking back to the sky.

"It sure does," Sakura agreed.

Naruto's flashlight stayed limply in his hand, shining towards the ground. Suddenly, the yellow ray started to flicker before completely diminishing. Reality hit the two pretty hard. The flashlight had run out of battery power and they were at least a mile from the cabin. To make matters worse, every light at the inn was turned off, making it impossible to detect and there were wild animals roaming in the fields.

"Shit, Naruto, tell me the light didn't just go out," Sakura cursed.

"Okay, the flashlight didn't go out."

Sakura hit him upside the head, glaring at the nimrod in front of her. "No, you dumbass, don't lie! It's a figure of speech!" Sakura screeched.

"Ow," Naruto groaned, rubbing the bump now formed on the top of his head, hunched over a bit. That blow really knocked him off balance.

"Serves you right, baka!"

As soon as Naruto stopped moaning, he stood up, the spot on his head still perfectly tender thanks to a certain pink-haired Haruno. Both of them looked around the field, the useless contraption in Naruto's grip, both being perfectly silent in case they heard something.

Hisses echoed throughout the plain from nearby snakes, hungry for a meal, some poisonous rattles and others measly garters passing by. Insects thrived on the blades of grass, some making sounds, startling Naruto and Sakura. A cool breeze passed by, chills running up their spines.

To make Naruto even more frightened, the moon was full tonight and it was shining a brilliant crimson shade.

"S-S-Sakura-chan, w-w-we s-should get o-out of h-h-here," Naruto managed to stutter, so frightened he could barely speak. He was superstitious and the red, full moon gave him absurd thoughts, most consumed by a lurking werewolf jumping them.

"Naruto, werewolves don't exist," Sakura said, stubborn to admit she was trembling with fear as well, her knees feeling like they'd give out at any time.

Stuck in a field at night, lost, without a light scared the two senseless. They didn't know exactly what dwelled in the fields but they could guess and many of them could prove dangerous in the dark.

At this point, their senses were mixed up, their vision blurry, plagued with illusions running through their minds, they ears deaf, absorbed with the sounds of hisses echoing through, and their sense of smell was useless in this situation.

It was like they were in a cornfield maze, a puzzle. Though there were no walls, the darkness played the part perfectly, blinding them from what was around the corner.

Their heads turned rapidly, their necks sore from the rapid movement, their eyes burning from their futile, countless attempts to see what was around. Right now, their brains were incapable of any though, too busy with envisioning the possibilities.

"S-Sakura-chan…" Naruto's teeth were chattering and he was turned in the opposite direction.

"Yeah?"

"Look." Naruto's orange outer sleeve stretched out, his inner darker blue sleeve becoming visible to the naked eye, draping down, the upper portion rising as his arm did. His pointer finger was stretched out, pinpointing something in the distance.

Sakura turned her entire body around, her emerald eyes widening considerably. She was staring at a human-shaped thing in the distance, a few meters away, illuminated by the moonlight. It was hanging limply from a pole, all four limbs outstretched. Black string stitched its mouth shut, creasing the material on its face a bit. It was dressed in tattered farmer man attire, a hat on its head.

His…or its…eyes were just holes torn into the brown tinted skin. Was it skin?

The two shaking teens stepped closer to it, to inspect it more closely.

The nails were black and rotten, the lips dark, dark blue. That's when they realized the creases in his face were shadows. His skin was dark, of African descent by the looks of it. It was…a real human being…dead…

Naruto touched his hand, greeted by cool skin. There was no pulse, nothing. Shaking, Naruto braced himself, gulping before gazing up at his eyes. Like his mouth, they were stitched shut, swollen. Cuts were sliced into his skin, blood staining his clothes.

The moonlight was telling them something.

Sakura has noticed the scarecrow when they had come; thinking the farmer who lived five miles away had put it up, paying not mind to it. After all, it looked like an average scarecrow from a distance.

Suddenly, it squeezed Naruto's hand, a moan escaping its lips, his head shifting a little.

"Holy crap!" Naruto yanked his hand out of its grip and grabbed Sakura's wrist, bolting away.

Naruto and Sakura ran like the wind, Sakura's bun escaping from its bun, her hair spreading out like wings before being swept behind her. Naruto's shoe fell off, Sakura stepped on a tarantula, and many more things happened but they kept running. They needed to get out of there.

"Naruto, what was that thing!?" Sakura shouted, stumbling a little as she sprinted.

"I don't know and I don't wanna know, just RUN!" Naruto yelled.

Sakura didn't say another word, mustering up all of her strength into pumping her legs forward. But she was quickly tiring. Naruto was too fast.

She jammed her toe on a rock, painfully, throwing her balance off completely, her entire body tumbling down.

Naruto stopped in his tracks, seeing his friend lying on the ground. Sakura sat up slowly, moaning, a searing pain slicing through her ankle.

"We have to get out of here!"

"Naruto, I think my ankle's twisted," Sakura said, rubbing her right ankle gently.

Without a second thought, Naruto scooped Sakura off the ground, holding her bridal style. He started running again, without looking back, the weight slowing him down considerably.

Sakura was shocked Naruto could hold her and run at the same time. She was only an inch smaller than him, probably about ten or fifteen pounds lighter but she weighed well over a hundred. Sakura put her arms around Naruto's neck, hanging on for dear life, tucking her head in the bend of his shoulder, screwing her eyes shut, not daring to look back.

Everything went black, just the rocking of Naruto's body keeping Sakura awake. She knew the flashlight had been long gone so he could pick her up. _I need to go to the supermarket to get another one_, Sakura mentally noted, trying to distract herself.

All she heard after that was Naruto's feet pounding on the porch and the door opening and slamming shut.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on the couch, her shoes off, the bruise darkened on her creamy skin.

Every light was on and Naruto had securely locked the door. They couldn't call for help since there was no phone or phone service at the inn.

Now they knew not to trust the nearest neighbor but who could they tell about the scarecrow, the people in the nearest town would just shake their heads, saying, "Crazy teenagers."

Naruto returned with a wet cloth and a bag of ice, a small, sad smile on his face. He bent down next to the rosette-haired teen and applied the cloth on her sprained ankle, putting the ice bag on the cloth, wrapping the ends of the cloth on top of the bag.

_I'm going to be out for at least two days. Thank goodness it was only a minor sprain._

"What're we going to do? The farmer did that, I know it." Naruto clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning ghost white.

"There's nothing we can do. No one will believe us. I guess we can start by taking the man down. He deserves a proper burial."

The blonde's face turned to stone it seemed like, completely hardening up. "Sakura-chan, we have to tell someone and!"

"And what Naruto!? Tell the police that there's a dead guy hanging on pole in the middle of our field?" Sakura asked sarcastically, waving her arms in the air.

"So, we bury him instead?"

"I guess but let's wait a few days while I recover," Sakura suggested, flashing a small smile to lighten the mood. Naruto returned her hopeful smile with on of his own.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, still smiling.

_Everything will be okay Naruto…_

…

…

…

…_right…?_

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The night had been long for Sasuke, Sai, and Hinata. They were forced to sleep in the car, without a shower, a proper meal, or anything at all really. They used public bathrooms in stores and the last store they passed was over an hour away.

At the moment, Sasuke was driving, barely awake with Hinata dozing off in the back and Sai shutting his eyes every now and then.

_Must stay awake…_ Sasuke kept his body tense in hopes of keeping him from falling asleep at the wheel. _No damn hotels, stores, nothing. We should've just taken the damn plane to LA._

They were on a dirt road, much to Sasuke's distaste, pebbles and rocks grinding under the wheels. His hands were firmly planted on the wheel, trying to keep him from crashing his new car.

Now they were on a single, empty dirt road in the middle of nowhere by a grassy field. That's when he saw something in the corner of his eye.

A small, simple, wooden inn was at the next turn in the dirt road just ahead. A pair of onyx eyes widened. He had finally found somewhere to stay. Sasuke was so focused on the inn that he wasn't paying any mind to the road.

_Ann inn…in the middle of nowhere…_

In the backseat, Hinata was limp, her seatbelt holding her in place despite her slanted position. Hinata's eyes opened warily and she spotted the inn. She glanced at the rearview mirror, noticing that Sasuke was focused solely on the inn. Then she averted her eyes to the road ahead.

"Sasuke-kun, watch out!" she yelled.

Sai snapped awake quickly, wondering what the noise was about. He wouldn't admit it but he was a little angry about his small nap being disrupted. His eyes hooked to the creature ahead, standing in the aloof in the forsaken street.

A small fox had stumbled into the road, yards away from their car. It was too shocked to move out of the way. It's eyes gleamed yellow, a small slit in the center of them. The fox's eyes met Sasuke's for a brief second.

Everything after that continued in slow motion. Sasuke's hands jerked the wheel to the right, in the direction of a small ravine leading into a small wooden fence and another grassy field.

"Shit!" he cursed, his body going rigid, his eyes screwing shut. Hinata screamed and Sai froze in place, unable to believe what was happening.

Their car shook violently, Sai's body lurching forward, giving a sickening grunt, his seatbelt restraining him from flying out of the car, the airbag deploying right in front of his face. Hinata flew forward into Sasuke's seat, her head slamming into the back of his leather seat, before being flung back into her own seat, hitting her head on the soft backseat. Sasuke was hurled into the wheel, crashing his forehead into the hard steering wheel with a sickening crack, making the horn honk, piercing the whole vicinity and alerting them of an alarming crash.

Then, their car tumbled down the ravine, into the fence that crashed into the windshield, glass flying everywhere, slicing into skin, stabbing flesh, and much more.

Moments later, there car was down the small ravine, the back wheels spinning wildly, the front of the car smashed into the ground below. The Mercedes rested against the surface of the gorge, almost directly upward. The horn still echoed throughout the grassy plain, sending an instant message to the inhabitants.

_Speeding was never a smart idea_. The fox glanced with a wistful eye at the remains before bounding away at light speed into the grass, passing the wreckage without a second glance.

A pale arm rested on the wheel with blood oozing down the pallid skin in streams; Sasuke's face was planted against the wheel right below his limp arm, the airbag was blown, almost hiding the existence of the younger Uchiha twin, and the girl in the back seat was leaning forward, her head resting on the seat ahead of her.

The inn was now a forgotten memory among the many others floating around the ruins of the newly bought Mercedes.

**Episode 01: End**

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**End Note: A car accident in the first chapter, man that was quick! Well, I had this plot in mind for awhile and I changed it a bit so. Well, we'll be looking more into the scarecrow thing next chapter and Sasuke's accident. Sasuke, Hinata, and Sai were the only ones in the car so you know. Who knows, I might kill someone off which I have done but I didn't post the story up.**

**So, yay or yuck? Tell me!**

**I think the chapters will get longer. The first chapter is always the hardest for me to do because I have so many ideas in my head. This time, unlike my other fics, I won't come up with the whole story. That makes me want to move on so there is a chance I can be influenced. Ideas or characters you want to see you can include in your reviews if you like. **

**The airbag, yeah, I know there's one in the steering wheel and that'll be added next chapter but for now, let's say it didn't deploy in time.**

**Originally, there wasn't going to even be a band but then the story would get boring so I decided to put that in. Deidara and Sasori were just added in when I typed it up and I thought Deidara fit the profile of a drummer. The closest instrument to BANG was the drums. I just added Sasori in because I felt like it. Actually, the original version only included Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai but I'm not a Yaoi writer so I put other people in and it shot off from there.**

**5 - 10 reviews sound nice. **

**Oh, and the ages if you didn't catch them plus their job/career.**

**Naruto- 16 - Summer Innkeeper**

**Sakura- 16 - Summer Innkeeper**

**Sasuke- 17 - Vocals for _Raven_**

**Sai- 17 - Guitarist for _Raven_**

**Hinata- 15 - None at the moment**

**And other character ages/careers:**

**Itachi- 23 - Manager for _Raven_**

**Shikamaru- 17 - Keyboardist for _Raven_**

**Ino- 16 - Babysitter/ Cashier at a clothing market in New York**

**Neji- 19 - Bass Guitarist for _Raven_**

**Deidara- 20 - Drummer for _Raven_**

**Sasori- 21 - Aspiring Actor**


	2. Episode 2: Physical Woes

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto or the characters...nope, not now either...**

**AN: 3 Favorites and 10 Alerts in the first chapter, thanks! Oh, and the scarecrow is in the NEXT chapter but I have to say, I scared myself when I was typing it at one in the morning. Also, I procrastinate during the weekend so...yeah. In this chapter, there's Sasu/Saku fluff and a little Naru/Hina if you squint. Enjoy!**

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**Episode 02: Physical Woes**

A sudden crash disturbed the peaceful countryside, birds flapping their wings at the sudden jolt, lifting themselves into the sky, animals scampering into their dens, and it also made Naruto practically jump from his seat in the rocker while he watched morning TV. The crash awoke Sakura from her small slumber on the couch.

"What was that?" Sakura asked, sitting up. She couldn't stand because of freshly twisted ankle which was still perfectly tender.

"It came from outside. I'm going to go see," Naruto said, turning off the TV and standing up.

"Naruto, what about if it's the neighbor or worse?" Sakura asked worriedly. Her face paled at the mere thought of Naruto going outside. It was daytime but still, the neighbor could be out and armed with a rifle.

"Then I'll run," Naruto reassured, turning back to her with a big, goofy grin.

"Okay but hurry up. You wouldn't want to worry me," Sakura said with a small, sad smile.

Grinning, the blonde teen gave Sakura a thumbs up before proceeding to the front door. Taking one last look around the inn, he shut the door, going down the wooden steps without a sound.

_I don't see anything_, Naruto thought to himself as took his strides nice and slow, carefully scanning the perimeter with every step he took.

His feet were treading the dirt road now, kicking small particles around as his legs kept him going, moving forward.

Nothing was out of the ordinary and he was standing at the corner of the empty, dirt street, gazing at the field across the street that belonged to the neighbor. In the distance, he saw the pole with a man on it but the question was whether or not the man was dead or alive. Naruto assumed that the one in his field was like the one the neighbor placed in Sakura's field. Reluctantly, he tore his gaze from the distant field, scrutinizing the middle road and brown fencing.

That's when his eyes spotted the car poking up from the bottom, the back wheels spinning. He couldn't see any people but he swore that the car wasn't there yesterday when he and Sakura trespassed on the neighbor's field a few days before wandering around their own field.

Instinct took over and all Naruto could hear was his quick breathing as his legs sped him across the road. Without thinking it through at all, Naruto climbed down the ravine, losing his footing a few times, eventually tumbling to the bottom, small rocks he tore following after him.

When he stood up, he stumbled a bit, staggering to the car. He couldn't believe how smashed the front end of it was…he had never seen anything like this. For a moment, his body froze, his mind wandering to when his parents died. Their car tumbled off the side of the road…into a lake…

Biting his lip, he continued on, trying to fight away the memory of his parents' death. He went to the driver's side, gazing in from the broken side window. A raven-haired man had his face resting against the wheel, still buckled into the car. A small air bag was deployed from the wheel and that's where his head limply rested. His arm had a stream of blood running down it from where it rested above his head. Next to the man was another man who was basically hidden because of the deployed airbag. But he didn't look bloody.

A moan came from the back and Naruto's cerulean eyes snapped to the black-haired girl who weakly clutched her head. Her eyes blinked open, looking warily at Naruto, a small gasp escaping her pale lips.

"It's okay, I'm here to help," Naruto assured, yanking open the back car door. He offered out his hand which the girl hesitantly took before he pulled her out.

The moment her feet hit the ground, her body completely drained itself of energy, feeling like a ton of bricks when she collapsed to the ground.

"Hey, are you okay!?" Naruto asked, still holding her hand firmly, bending down next to the girl gasping for breath. By her attire, Naruto could guess she was from the city. What person in their right mind wandered the fields in a blue halter top, jean mini shorts, and blue flip-flops?

"Y-Yes," she wheezed, taking a good look at her rescuer, her long, dark strands hanging in her face, blurring her vision.

Hinata wasn't in any pain, excluding her killer headache, but she was in shock. Never once had she experienced something traumatizing like a car accident. She had always been the pampered daughter, the heir to the Hyuga fortune who was handled like an expensive piece of fine china. When she looked at the boy, she was struck in utter awe. To her, Naruto resembled that of a Greek god and she couldn't help but gawk at him.

_Is this love…? I've never been in love…_

"Um earth to…uh, whoever you are…" Naruto waved a hand in front of the girl's unblinking eyes.

"Hinata!" she piped up. "My name is Hinata Hyuga," she said, suppressing a blush.

"Okay…" Naruto was a little bit lost with this girl.

"Ah, Sai-kun, Sasuke-kun!" Hinata remembered, turning back to the wrecked sports car.

Naruto jumped back to his feet and quickly tore open the driver's sear door. He unbuckled Sasuke's belt, leaning into the wreckage before wrapping his arms around the unconscious boy's torso, pulling him out. The raven-haired Uchiha was at least three inches taller than him and much more muscular, making him quite a bit heavier and harder to pull out. Carefully, he removed the teenage rock star from the confines of the car, dragging him by the now tearful Hyuga heiress, Sasuke's feet and a large portion of his legs on the ground, dragging behind the upper portion of his body.

Naruto laid the raven-haired teen on the ground next to Hinata who was shaking, still sobbing quietly. As soon as Sasuke was laid on the ground, Naruto skimmed over his body, inspecting the wounds inflicted on him quickly. Small shards of glass were in his bloody arms, nothing a good pair of tweezers couldn't take care of, and a huge bump was on his forehead from smashing his head against the wheel. Lucky for Sasuke that his head wasn't busted open.

Judging by the clothes, this one was a city kid too. A sleeveless red zipped vest, no shirt underneath, his pale muscles glistening brightly even with the amount of blood pooled on his arms, a pair of ripped, dark jeans, and brand named white and green sneakers on his feet. Just his spiked hair made him look like a city kid.

_God, how much gel does this guy use? His hair's still spiky even after the crash._

After his thought ended, Naruto went back to the car, climbing inside to pull out the other boy who looked remarkably like the first guy. His hair was flat against his head, with a gray tint, unlike the other boy who had a blue tint to his hair. Sai's attire consisted of a gray-black, sleeveless, unzipped vest with a black men's tank top underneath. His shoes, like Sasuke's, were brand named sneakers.

Naruto had a few issues with pulling Sai out of the seat, having to maneuver the unconscious, limp teen who, by the way, was just a tad bit smaller than Sasuke out of the airbag, not knowing how severe his wounds were.

Eventually, he got him out of the car, laying him next to Sasuke. There was no sign of blood on him, thankfully, and Hinata looked able to walk. At least, with her help hopefully, it's be easier for Naruto to take the two back to the house.

But how was he going to get the guys up the ravine and to the house? Even worse, they were on the neighbor's lawn and the neighbor had more than likely heard the crash.

Then an idea popped into Naruto's empty head.

"Be right back," Naruto said, hopping to his feet, sprinting to the ravine.

"Where a-are you g-going?" Hinata stuttered, standing up, her hand held up to her mouth.

"To get help," Naruto grinned. Second guessing himself wasn't going to help Naruto in this situation. His hands planted on the rocky edges of the ravine, his strength gathering to his arms, pulling him up, followed by his feet finding a solid stand to support him. As he climbed up, Naruto felt this burst of energy, helping him along the way. He felt like Spiderman as he climbed up but he wasn't even going to attempt holding out his hand, hoping some magic web would spurt from his hand that would act as a rope to get him up.

Fantasizing definitely wasn't a good idea at the moment.

Soon enough, Naruto was up the ravine, limping a few steps before regaining his balance. Even though he was almost out of energy, Naruto mustered up what was left and more to pump his legs quickly, bringing him closer to his destination.

He just hoped the neighbor wouldn't get there before he did.

When he reached the house, clearly out of breath, feeling like he'd keel over dead at any moment, he slammed open the door, letting it swing shut behind him.

A familiar pink head popped up, her jade eyes studying him clearly. "Naruto, you look like you're out of breath. What happened?"

"N-No time, where's the car keys?" Naruto wheezed, holding onto the periphery of the wall to keep him up.

"On the counter…why?"

"C-Car a-accident," Naruto coughed, "they n-need help a-and I c-can't drag them back here m-myself."

Sakura gaped at him. She couldn't believe him. What cars even drive by this area?

"How bad is it?"

"N-Not bad," Naruto answered, going to the counter to snag the keys, "but they need a first aid kit."

"You want me to treat them?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"What other options do we have?" Naruto asked seriously. "The nearest hospital is a hundred miles away and we can't pack them in our truck."

The rosette-haired maiden didn't say anything for a moment, looking at her injured ankle. "What tools do I need?" she smiled.

"Tweezers, bandages, and a whole hell of a lot of ice," Naruto grinned.

"And disinfectant," Sakura added.

Naruto nodded, still grinning like a maniac.

"I guess I could limp around the place," she said, sitting on the edge of the couch.

"Thanks…Sakura-chan…" After flashing her a wistful smile, he whisked himself to the garage, opening and closing the garage door, already driving the pickup truck away.

Okay, so he didn't know how to drive very well but that didn't mean he couldn't steer it crazily to the spot.

Finally, after many sharp turns, abrupt stops, speeding, and cursing, Naruto had the hang of it, stopping the car a few safe feet away from the gorge.

Like Spiderman, he climbed down the chasm, returning to the three car crash victims from New York City.

Sai had woken up and was groaning, moaning something about his neck. The guy seemed very reluctant to turn his head. He had probably gotten a decent case of whiplash at this point.

"Hinata," Naruto started, kneeling down next to the nervous heiress.

"Y-Yeah?" she blushed.

"I need your help. My car's up there and I need to get these two losers up there," Naruto said, earning a slight glare from the stoic Sai Uchiha.

"O-Okay."

The heiress stood up and they decided to haul Sasuke up first since he was still out cold and defenseless.

Hinata grabbed his arms and Naruto took a strong hold of his legs. The two worked together to climb the ravine, still holding onto Sasuke. After practically dropping him a series of times, they miraculously had him loaded in the back of the truck.

Next was Sai. Since Sai was awake, Naruto told Hinata to get into the truck while he went to help Sai.

By the time Naruto had struggled down, Sai was already standing up, careful not to move his head at all. Besides the fact it was hard to move his neck at all, even a small movement would trigger a wave of pain to rush throughout his neck and head.

"What took you so long Dickless?" Sai asked, a hint of sarcasm hidden in his voice, a fake smile on his lips.

Naruto grumbled to himself, resisting the urge to strangle the bastard, instead, he slung his arm around the guy's neck, causing him some pain since he flinched. Reluctantly, the two worked together up the gorge.

He was more than happy to toss the bastard into the back of the truck with his unconscious twin brother.

Like before, Naruto's driving skills were lacking, Sai's neck getting sorer by the second and Sasuke snapping awake only to be thrown against the side of the truck.

"Who the hell is driving?" Sasuke snapped at his annoyed twin.

"Some dickless country kid," Sai answered.

Sasuke's face paled. This day was going from bad to worse.

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"Shit!" Sasuke swore for the umpteenth millionth time. Another shard of glass was dropped in a small napkin spotted with red dots.

"Be quiet or it's really going to hurt," Sakura snapped, the tweezers still wedged between two fingers, her hand gripping onto Sasuke's arm, her nails practically digging into his skin.

Everyone was in the living room. Hinata and Sai were in the rockers, Sai resting his sore neck against the headrest, trying to find peace in this stressful situation. Hinata, on the other hand, was perfectly intact, twiddling her thumbs timidly. Naruto was hovering over the couch, watching the amazing Sakura do her work.

Sakura was the one pulling the glass shards from Sasuke's arms. A bandage was wrapped around his forehead to conceal the swollen bump. Since Sakura still had a twisted ankle, she, and Sasuke, were seated on the couch, painfully removing the imbedded shards.

Sasuke corrected himself. This day wasn't bad…it was hell.

"All done," Sakura smiled, discarding the last piece of glass in the napkin, placing the tweezers back in the first aid kit that rested next to the napkin. Making a face, Naruto folded up the napkin and tossed it in the trash while Sakura bandaged up Sasuke's bleeding arms. Thankfully, he didn't need any stitches.

The introductions were long over and Naruto and Sakura were fully aware of the teens' wealth, if the didn't totaled Mercedes didn't show them, their clothing and attitudes did.

It took hours to get everything situated and the meals set. Even repairing wounds took a lot of time, especially Sasuke's. By the time they were done, it was already evening. Naruto had turned on the TV and they all rested up while watching some cheap movie Naruto had turned on.

"Hey Hinata-san, I have a change of clothes if you'd like to wear it," Sakura smiled at the timid girl.

"O-Oh, thank you Sakura-san," Hinata stammered.

"We don't need your damn hospitality; we have our own clothes," Sasuke said coldly.

"Sasuke-kun…" Hinata whispered.

Sakura shot the Uchiha a glare, about to say something when Naruto beat her to it.

"Yeah, and your car's totaled on a nut job's property. Do you want to take a chance with an armed murderer?" Naruto shot back.

Sasuke glared at him. "Dobe."

"Teme!"

"Sasuke-kun, N-Naruto-kun is right. W-What if the man over there is armed?" Hinata said.

The Uchiha's pride was smashed into smithereens as he just leaned back into the couch, seeming to pout silently.

Sakura had to admit that Sasuke Uchiha was hot but his attitude was the problem. She couldn't stand how he thought he was so much better than everyone else. Sakura didn't care if he sung for some popular rock band, he was still a jerk.

…

…

…

…But he was a hot one.

Sasuke couldn't help but stare at Sakura. She was the only girl he had ever seen with pink hair…and he saw a lot of women. But the girl was so strict and too caring about the earth. The worst thing was the fact that she didn't faint or show any difference in attitude in his presence. What got him was how she could yell at the vocals for _Raven_ so easily. The girl was a one-of-a-kind, he had to give her that much.

Hinata felt like she'd faint in Naruto's presence. He had saved her and her friends from the wreckage so heroically and she admired how he could voice his opinion. Hinata was never one to talk in front of others, even in front of her cousin. She kept her thoughts and opinions bottled up inside her mind, never popping off the cap.

Naruto thought Hinata was too quiet…but he felt some weird attraction to her. Yeah, she was pretty and all but she was different from other city girls. She wasn't selfish, picky, loud, and obnoxious, no, she was quiet, timid, sweet, and caring. The Hyuga heiress was the nicest person he had ever met.

Sai basically didn't have an opinion on anyone. Sasuke was his jerk of a twin, Hinata was too quiet, he called Sakura "Ugly" to get a reaction, and he thought Naruto was a brainless moron. All he wanted was for this pain in his neck to go to hell so he could sit up and sketch in peace. But if he had to place someone first in his book he'd have to say Sakura since she offered him the comfortable chair in the first place.

"Come on Hina-chan, I can call you that, right?" Sakura asked with a hopeful smile. Hinata nodded. "And you can call me Saku-chan."

Hinata got up with a shy smile, going to Sakura's side. "A little help?" the rosette maiden asked, wanting help getting to her feet.

Immediately, Sasuke stood up and took a careful hold of her arm, his fingers wrapping completely around her forearm, pulling her up.

_He's so warm… _Sakura was baffled at Sasuke's actions and was flat-out amazed when he pulled her into his chest. Greeted by the material of his vest, her face became buried in it, her eyes widened but hidden in the material. _He smells…different…like cinnamon and pepper… _She couldn't help but snuggle a little into his chest, twisting her head a little.

Sasuke planted his arms on her bare shoulders and pushed her back a little, getting her to regain her balance on one foot before having Hinata take his place in supporting her.

"Thanks…Sasuke-kun," Sakura said quietly, a little bashful.

_Why did he help me up when Hinata was right there and…did he just hug me!?_

_Why did I do that? _Sasuke asked himself.

Sakura's cheeks burned at the thought as she and Hinata slowly proceeded to Sakura's room down the hall.

When the coast was clear, Naruto turned to Sasuke, staring at him accusingly.

"What?" Sasuke asked, noticing Naruto's fixed gaze.

"You like Sakura-chan," Naruto accused.

"I do not like Sakura…dobe."

"Teme!"

The two glared at each other before turning away in a huff, both thinking the same thing.

_I can't stand that guy!_

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Hinata carefully lowered Sakura enough for the pink-haired teen to flop on the bed.

"The kimono is in my closet, it's the light blue and white one," Sakura smiled.

Shyly, Hinata walked to the closet, sliding the door open. It only took a few second for her to locate the said kimono. Like Sakura's, it was traditional, long-sleeved and long but it wrapped around her legs like loose pants and not a long skirt. The kimono was mostly white with small light and dark blue cranes printed on the silky material.

"You can change into it if you like," Sakura offered. "And I like guys if that's what you are worried about.:

The two giggled and hesitantly, Hinata switched into the kimono, gathering up her dirty clothes in her arms, dumping them in the designated hand basket in the corner of the room.

They heard crashing and yelling from Naruto's room and both giggled, assuming Naruto gave Sasuke and Sai a change of clothes.

By the time Sakura was helped into the living room, the two city kids were looking more country already and by the looks of it, were comfortable. Poor Sai was still in pain on the rocker, Naruto and Sasuke having a glaring contest, and Hinata and Sakura took a seat on the couch. There was enough room for at least four people on the couch so it wasn't too packed in.

Sasuke was wearing a navy blue kimono that became black past his waist, a thin, sleeveless gray-black, opened vest was slid over his kimono, hanging loosely from his frame. His kimono sleeves were only three-quarters long the white bindings still bared and visible to the naked human eye.

Sai was clad in a full gray-black, short sleeved kimono with red edging. A thin, narrow white strand of fabric was wound around his lower abdomen numerous times, tied at the front smugly.

Now all of them were dressed in traditional Japanese attire while they sat in the living room of a small inn in the middle of nowhere.

"Since you three won't be going anywhere for awhile, we have enough rooms for you three to stay," Sakura smiled.

"Cool! We have customers!" Naruto grinned.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Can't he sleep on the porch Sakura-chan?" Naruto wailed, pointing a finger at Sasuke.

"No, Naruto, he's staying in the room next to mine and Hinata will stay in the room next to yours. Sai will stay in the room by Sasuke," Sakura announced.

Hinata's face flushed, her eyes threatening to roll in the back of her head. Sasuke and Sai noticed this, exchanging glances before agreeing silently on what was going on. Both of them also agreed her taste in men was terrible.

After regaining her composure, Hinata dared to glance at Naruto who was grinning widely and foolishly, completely oblivious to her embarrassment. Her face heated again and she finally lost it, collapsing sideways onto the armrest.

Sakura sweat dropped, laughing nervously while Naruto seemed to go into panic mode.

"Hinata!"

Sasuke and Sai's suspicions were officially confirmed. As long as they knew Hinata, she was never _that _nervous around people. They couldn't deny it.

Hinata was hopelessly in love with the knuckleheaded Naruto Uzumaki.

_I can't say her taste is all that great but Hinata never had a reason to love anyone until now since Naruto was the one who rescued us in the first place. It's only going to make it harder for her when we leave._

Sighing, Sasuke scratched the back of his head. _This is going to be a long summer._

By now, Naruto had jumped to his feet to Hinata's side, jerking on her kimono roughly, trying to wake her up. Though he wanted to help her, he was just making her even more nervous and warmer, as if she had hay fever.

"Naruto, stop shaking her," Sakura sighed.

Naruto stopped in mid-jerk, Hinata limp in his grasp, her face beat red. "Sorry," he grinned nervously.

"Take her to her room," Sakura said simply. She knew how tired everyone was and Hinata was probably exhausted.

Shrugging, he lifted the now unconscious girl bridal style and carried her down the hall, disappearing into the room.

"She likes him," Sasuke said when the coast was clear.

Sakura's gaze flickered to the Uchiha sitting next to her, their eyes meeting. For a moment, Sakura was breathless, falling prey to the abyss hidden beneath the depths of his onyx orbs.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed.

"Does he like her?" Sasuke asked, adjusting his body to face Sakura.

"I don't know. It may seem like Naruto's easy to read but in reality, he's probably the most difficult person to interpret I've ever met. I can never tell what's going through his mind. That goofy grin of his is just a charade to fool you; he's not clueless to everything and he's not happy all the time."

"I find that hard to believe," Sasuke smirked. Sakura cracked a smile.

"Well, believe it," Sakura smiled.

The room went into an awkward silence while Sasuke and Sakura just stared at one another, exploring the depths in the one another's eyes.

Sai coughed. He was being completely ignored and now it was just annoying him. After all, he was the one with whiplash.

"Oh, sorry Sai-kun," Sakura said, snapping out of her daze, obviously flustered. "You must want to get to your room."

The pale boy gave a fake smile. "That would be nice…Ugly."

Sakura's grin faltered, her eyebrow twitching in full aggression. Sasuke knew his brother had issues but this could prove fatal…for both of them.

"Sai, shut up," Sasuke ordered coldly. The younger twin shut his mouth, showing no signs of anger or of pleasure.

"I'd show you to your rooms if I could get up," Sakura said.

Sasuke stood up and walked to Sakura, offering out his hand which the girl gladly took, letting him pull her up. He offered her his shoulder for support, her arm wrapping diffidently around his neck. The two exchanged now words, both obviously flustered.

"What about me?" Sai asked as Sasuke and Sakura slowly started towards the hall.

"You have legs, use them," Sasuke said simply, keeping up the pace. Sakura looked back at the younger twin, smirking.

Payback was certainly sweet.

"Sasuke-kun, don't you think you were a little harsh?" Sakura asked as they strode to her room, passing up Hinata's room, not seeing or hearing anything since the door was securely shut.

"Hn."

"Is that it? Wow, you have a very colorful vocabulary," Sakura muttered.

Sasuke said nothing but opened her door, basically dropping her on the bed.

"Hey!" Sakura squeaked when she hit the soft mattress.

"Which room's mine?" Sasuke asked monotonously.

"The one on the left and Sai's room is the one after that," Sakura said.

Without another word, Sasuke left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

"Is every Uchiha as silent as him?" Sakura asked herself.

Deciding she was going to take a shower tomorrow morning, she stripped off her kimono, too tired to fetch her pajamas.

Who would go into her room anyway?

Throwing the kimono to the floor, she collapsed on the pillow, pulling the thin blanket over her almost bare figure, falling sound asleep in a matter of moments.

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Her entire body felt heavy, her eyes fluttering open, revealing her jade irises to the new day. She turned on her side, stifling a yawn, tucking her hands under her head. Sakura scrunched her body up in a ball before stretching out her legs as far as she possibly could. In some ways, she looked like a cat.

Warily, she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She shifted her injured ankle, seeing how painful in was at the moment and luckily, the pain had eased off quite a bit. Maybe she could walk around on her own.

Sakura sat on the edge of her bed, her legs swinging from the edge of the bed slightly. Starting with her left foot, she eased herself up, keeping her weight from her twisted right. She eased her body down and found that she could limp around now. _Thank god, no more damned chauffeurs!_

Quickly, she gathered a pink, floral kimono and changed, to only head into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Seeing as to how it was sunrise, Sakura knew she was the only one up. Somehow, she couldn't picture Sasuke, Sai, or even Hinata up at this time.

And once again, her intuition was right. Even when she got out of the shower, no one was up and about.

As usual, Sakura shrugged it off and sauntered off to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

_What are we going to do about the body? I'm a hundred percent sure that Sasuke, Sai, and Hinata are going to think we're crazy. _

Still consumed in her thoughts, she mindlessly threw the fryer, with the first three eggs, on the stove, letting them sizzle above the heat.

Sakura spotted something in the corner of her eye.

_Well, speak of the devil._

Sasuke was obviously half-awake, his eyes only half open and yet, he managed to keep himself from yawning, keeping his lips in a fine line instead. His hair was somehow still spiky, just a little disheveled, and he had on a navy blue robe over a pair of black sweats he borrowed from Naruto. Sakura couldn't keep her eyes off the man as he took a seat in one of the two barstools at the counter. Her eyes traveled over his pale yet toned chest, gazing dreamily at his six-pack.

_He must workout…_

The teen rock star must have noticed her ogling because he spoke up. "Are you going to stare at me all day or cook?"

Sakura snapped out of her daze, flustered, returning to her business at the stove.

"I see you can walk," Sasuke observed aloud.

"Yup, it's still a little sore but I'm mobile," Sakura smiled.

Sasuke smirked. _This girl is definitely different from the others. Most girls I dated would act like they're dying with a twisted ankle._

"How did you twist your ankle?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm, oh, I…uh…fell, yeah, stupid me, I tripped on one of the steps on the porch," Sakura lied, chuckling nervously, avoiding his gaze.

_She's lying…_

"Tell me that while you're actually looking at me and I'll believe you," Sasuke said.

_Crap, he knows! _Inner Sakura popped up and mentally kicked Sakura.

"Um, okay, maybe that's not the whole story…" Sakura trailed off, trying to focus on the eggs in the frying pan, flipping one over with a spatula.

"Then what is?"

"Why do you care?" Sakura snapped, sending a glare in Sasuke's direction.

"I don't." Sakura's heart fell, her stomach twisting and turning at his words. "But since I'm probably going to be stuck here for awhile, I might as well know."

_I knew he didn't care but god, did he have to be so damn blunt about it?_

"It's none of your business," Sakura said coldly.

"It seems that I'm going to have to ask Naruto then," Sasuke announced, his hidden initiative concealed in his words.

_Shit! Naruto won't keep quiet._

"Fine," Sakura sighed, "but you are going to think I'm crazy."

"Hn."

Sakura inwardly groaned. _Not that again…_

She glanced at the Uchiha sitting at the counter, propped up on one elbow, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, his eyes studying her carefully. Clearly he was taking amusement in torturing her until she told the truth.

"The night before we found your car…Naruto and I…were taking a walk in the fields and our flashlight went out. And since we had left the lights off in the inn, we were pretty much lost. These fields go on for miles and we had at least walked a quarter of a mile, maybe more…" Her voice stopped, squeaking at the very end, her breath hitching in her throat. She looked at Sasuke who was paying close attention to her words. "W-Well," Sakura stuttered, getting nervous, "Naruto saw something behind us and turned me around. I swear, we didn't do it, we didn't…"

"Do what?" Sasuke asked almost softly.

"W-We just found him. Naruto checked him for a pulse and he said there wasn't one b-but he grabbed Naruto's hand," her voice started to crack as she started to panic, "a-and we ran. What else could we do!?" Sakura was holding back the tears threatening to fall. She felt like scum at this point. If that man was alive, they had just killed him. They didn't save him, call for help, no, they ran away like cowards instead.

"What happened to your ankle?" Sasuke asked again, wanting his answer.

Sakura looked taken aback. He was asking about her ankle and not the man bound to a pole, his eyes and mouth stitched shut!

"I tripped," Sakura muttered, tearing her gaze from him to her feet.

"And what did you see out there?" Sasuke inquired calmly.

"I…don't know. I…I think it was a man. We thought it was a scarecrow…but it moved. His eyes were stitched shut and his mouth was too, the man was tortured! He's still bound to the damned pole in _our_ field! He's dead, we killed him." Sakura collapsed to her knees in tears.

_We killed him… We killed someone… We're just as much at fault as the neighbor… We're murderers…_

Tears flooded her eyes, running down her cheeks; her sweaty palms were flat against the floor as she sobbed.

_The tears won't stop…_

Desperately, she tried to wipe away the liquid on her face, her unbound cherry shaded hair draping down her shoulders and back, some ends curled up.

Two bare feet came into her line of vision, making her gaze up at the man standing above her. Sasuke had no emotion drawn onto his face but he wasn't cruel. Without a word, he offered his hand to her and after a few moments of hesitation, their fingers intertwined, their hands locking onto one another.

He pulled the sobbing girl up and something flashed into his mind, a memory…

_Two hands were locked together; fingers wrapped around one another's, one hand belonging to a small, raven-haired boy and one to a shy little pink-haired girl with a large forehead. A simple red ribbon was wrapped upon her head, pinning back her hair that was combed down neatly, reaching above her petite shoulders._

_They were in a field, a meadow maybe. A gentle wind rusted their hair and clothes, cooling off their overheated bodies that were roasting in the midsummer air._

_The familiar raven-haired boy wore a small smile and the girl…_

…_she was crying…_

"Um, Sasuke-kun, you can let go of my hand now," Sakura said, noticing that he had been just standing their in a daze, holding her hand, for at least thirty-seconds. That was twenty-five seconds too long.

Trying to keep his cool façade, he let go of her hand wordlessly, staring to the right, concealing the small blush creeping up on his cheeks.

Sakura couldn't help but giggle at his embarrassment.

When she finally stopped laughing, she looked up at him, grateful. That's about the time she noticed that he was a good head taller than her and even though he was muscular, he was still very slim.

She went back to her eggs and he proceeded back to his seat.

"Sasuke-kun?" She turned herself around, wearing a warm smile.

"Hn?" He stopped but didn't turn his body around to face her, keeping his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Thanks."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, starting to turn himself around to say something when…

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, morning!" Naruto bellowed, cheerfully entering the room.

Sighing, Sasuke sent Naruto a death glare before returning to his seat, muttering, "Dobe."

"Naruto," Sakura growled. She had a feeling Sasuke was going to say something but Naruto ruined the only moment they had ever gotten.

A few painful minutes later, Naruto was at the other open barstool, mumbling to himself, rubbing the new bumps he received on his head tenderly.

"What'd I do?" Naruto asked, completely oblivious.

**Episode 02: End**

* * *

**I updated!! I said Sasori was a warehouse worker last chapter but it was a typo. He's an aspiring actor and that's what I put in the actual story. Sorry, but it's fixed.**

**So, I'm putting questions in your heads now. Who are the two kids Sasuke remembered? Did he meet Sakura before the accident? What's going to happen with the scarecrow...er...man thing?**

**And how come I have so many alerts but hardly anyone reviewed? Well, I feel safe when I ask for 12 - 15 reviews for the next update. And I haven't started the next chapter but if you want to see the man/scarecrow, review please!! If I get 15, I'll give a preview for later on in the story since it's pretty much divided into two arcs, one in the inn and the other in LA so the other characters WILL get parts. Request a character in your reviews and I'll put out something involving that character that will happen later on. If I get MORE THAN 15 reviews, I'll put a preview for the second place character too.**

**You can pick:**

**Deidara- the drummer and Ino's older brother (I just decided that Ino was his younger sister recently)**

**Itachi- manager and Sasuke's older brother**

**Shikamaru- keyboardist and Ino's boyfriend**

**Neji- bass guitar player and Hinata's cousin**

**Sasori- aspiring actor and Deidara's best friend**

**Whoever gets the most votes within the next few chapters will be put out. And ONE of those characters contributes to a love triangle involving Sasuke and Sakura. **

**Well, until 12 - 15 reviews I guess, see you then!**


	3. Episode 3: Hidden Truth

**Disclaimer: I dun own Naruto. Long live the Akatsuki!!!**

**I'm not DEAD!!!**

**Sorry it too centuries. Between writers block, school, family, dying animals, and faulty friends, I was kind of overwhelmed. I HAVE NOT started chappter four but I know what it's going to be about and I'll get to it eventually. At least a two week break is coming up so I can work on it then.**

* * *

**Episode 03: Hidden Truth**

At about eight or nine in the morning, everyone was gathered, Sai reclining in the rocking chair yet again, getting fed some soup by Hinata, who was too nice for her own good, Naruto channel surfing on the sofa, while Sasuke and Sakura stayed in the kitchen, cleaning up.

_Amazing, the rich bastard helps out more than Naruto…maybe I should hire him._

"Oi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called. "When's lunch?"

The pink haired teen shot her adopted brother a glare that made the poor boy gulp and go back to channel surfing.

"And he's putting on a façade?" Sasuke smirked, raising a brow just to anger the mysterious maiden even further.

Sakura huffed, about to spurt some smart remark but held it in, allowing air to gather in her mouth, puffing up her cheeks. She didn't think Sasuke was that bad of a guy but he was no Prince Charming either. Ever since earlier, Sakura had put a little more thought into who Sasuke really was, not that bastard he made people think was actually him, but the one hidden deep, deep, deep, deep down.

Her emerald orbs followed him as he kept his back to her, drying some of the damp plates still left in the sink.

_Maybe…_

"Are you going to gawk at me all day or actually help out, you could use the exercise," he insulted, turning around to face her, his trademark smirk evident on his ghost white lips.

That knocked Sakura straight back into reality and all she could do at the moment was flush completely scarlet. A mix of emotions swelled within her. Anger…embarrassment…anxiety…

_Yeah, anger will do._

Her head tilted downward and for a few moments, she stared at her bare feet, at her somewhat swollen ankle. "You…BASTARD!!!" She gritted her teeth in frustration and Sasuke could have sworn he saw steam erupt from her ears before she raised her fist, slamming it into his head.

Sasuke faltered, slipping a few steps back, away from the crazy innkeeper. He rubbed the newly formed bump on his head, glaring at the furious woman he now wondered to be Medusa.

While Sakura stayed in a battle stance, Naruto was gawking from the couch, dropping the remote on the floor.

_This is even better than TV! Kick his ass Sakura-chan!_

Hinata had dropped the spoon she had been using to feed Sai moments earlier and since whiplash was still plaguing his neck, all Sai could do was guess the event that had taken place.

_Ugly has some guts after all. _

A smirk made its way to the raven-haired teen's lips, astounding everyone in the room, mostly Sakura, who had lowered her fists.

"Not many have had the guts to hit me… You're probably the first, _Sakura-chan_," he teased, letting his hand drop to his side.

Her eyes widened a considerable amount as her whole body eased. He had insulted _and _teased her yet…she wasn't angry…at all…

The knucklehead whistled from his seat on the couch, earning him a worried glance from the Hyuga heiress. "Boy, you're going to get it now," he grinned cockily, letting his teeth gleam brightly.

A few seconds of silence passed and no one spoke a word, only few worried looks from Hinata, and bored ones from Sai (via Whiplash Lad now), were passed.

_It's Ugly's move, _Sai told himself, waiting expressionlessly for some sort of hurtful phrase, punches, or even strangling to come but the young innkeeper never did any of that. No, instead she just turned on her heel and resumed wiping off the counters.

Sasuke had to admit that her reaction had definitely stumped him to say the least but, as usual, he kept his cool and shrugged it off, also returning to morning chores.

Naruto, on the other hand, was just stunned, his mouth hanging widely agape, hitting the floor, letting flies zip into his mouth. Hinata was also shocked; her lips slightly parted, eyes dilated, the spoon hanging limply in her fingers. Sai too was taken by surprise but decided that he really didn't give a damn and would rather be fed at the moment, staring at the bewildered Hyuga and after not getting a single sign of her actually hanging in reality, he leaned all the way back, muttering about the pain and mistreatment he was receiving.

God, he just wanted to go home… Was food too much to ask for?

"S-S-S-Sakura-chan!" Naruto wailed. "Please say it isn't true! You're taking the teme's side!"

She glanced impassively at him before giving her simple response. "No."

"T-Then why_!?"

"Would you shut up Naruto!?" she screeched, suddenly catching everyone's attention once again. Realizing that all eyes were on her once again, and seeing as to how the circumstances were worsening, Sakura dropped her washrag and started towards the halls.

"I'm going to my room," she muttered.

"What was…" Naruto started when he heard the door shut echo rather loudly throughout the house, "…that about…?"

"Dobe," Sasuke grumbled, putting away the final dish before tossing the rag down, going to back to the living room.

"Teme!" Naruto shouted, shooting up to his feet instinctively.

Sasuke didn't feel much like arguing with the blonde idiot, since no one seemed to be able to get through that thick skull of his except Sakura, so he just sent him one of his trademark glared before finding nearby corner wall to lean upon.

Naruto clenched his teeth, biting his tongue, forcing himself to sit down in order to lower his temper somewhat.

"Sasuke-kun…" Hinata whispered worriedly.

"That was…unexpected since Ugly is known for her temper," Sai muttered to himself aloud.

"No, no, no," Naruto grumbled, his voice gradually faltering. He ruffled his already mussed blonde spikes in frustration. "Ugh, this is all wrong!"

Sasuke momentarily paused at the final plate, freshly dried, staring at the faucet's silver base, at his own reflection…his eyes specifically. They had caused him so much pain and grief yet they were what had established his career.

_Flashback_

"_Hey, this kid has talent," one man clad in very flashy clothing commented, his eyes hidden by a dark pair of shades._

"_Yeah, but look at the guy," the other, physically appearing much older, snorted. He pointed to the man auditioning onstage, at his average Joe, mousy brown hair, scarce freckles, and overly ordinary T-shirt and vintage shorts. _

_The other man sighed. "Ya got a point there. Next!" he hollered, unphased by the teen's expression and realization that his dreams had been shattered._

"_Audition 462: Sasuke Uchiha." A pale teen with black, uniquely styled hair stepped in. His appearance apparently overwhelmed the judges compared to the previous ones. Despite his simple black attire, the judges seemed enthralled by one thing: his onyx eyes._

"_Sing," one judge said, after getting a grip. As long as the kid was decent, with some special effects and editing, he could be the next king of the music industry. _

_His eyes, there was something in them that stood out. Anyone could get lost in them, at least for a moment, enough to get a person scanning the music section to look at his album. _

_The moment Sasuke opened his mouth, the judges unanimously agreed that he was the one._

_Soon enough, Sasuke was whisked away on a plane to LA to discuss some things with record label where he decided on Itachi as his manager, seeing as to how he thought everyone else was either below him or just an imbecile. There, he met with other candidates selected to be in a band that the company had high hopes for. Sai, who Sasuke hadn't know had tried out at all, was chosen as the best guitarist from a large group though Sasuke thought Sai had either bribed the guys or was chosen for his looks. Deidara, the loudmouth pretty boy stuck on art that somehow exploded or whatever, mostly fireworks, was introduced also. Easy to say, he and Sasuke clashed. Neji, the cocky heir was also there but since Sasuke had met him during childhood, they were on decent terms. Shikamaru was the last member and the final person to be introduced. Apparently, his girlfriend had to drag him there. _

_Funny how a month after their first album was released, they were all over the radio and packing for their first tour._

_That was three years ago._

_End Flashback_

Sasuke averted his gaze from the plate, putting it away, tossing the cloth aside.

_And that's when life became a living hell…_

As the young vocalist sauntered into the living room casually, he suddenly felt uneasy, noticing three pairs of eyes focused intently on him, mostly the pair belonging to a certain blonde idiot.

"What?" he snapped, returning the glare tenfold.

"Teme!"

Too annoyed to rebuke, Sasuke just heaved a heavy sigh before setting off for his own room.

"Hey, where the hell are you going!? I wasn't done!" Naruto hollered.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, turning himself just enough to stare the dobe in the eye. "To my room," he answered coldly, "and whatever you have to say is unintelligible and not worth hearing." With that, the teen just disappeared into the hall.

Naruto was about to chase after him but thankfully, Hinata intervened.

"Naruto-kun, please…" she begged softly, her eyes pleading.

The rambunctious youth swallowed uncomfortably and collapsed back onto the couch.

"Fine," he groaned.

She mouthed him a 'thank you' before turning back to Sai. "I'm sorry," she apologized nervously, picking up the spoon and now cooled soup bowl, "I forgot about your breakfast."

Sai raised his brows. _Now you remember!? _Of course, Sai being the reserved character he was, silently dismissed her mistake. _I'll blame Dickless, he's the cause of most of our problems anyway._

-

-

-

-

Naruto went back to channel surfing for awhile before something finally dawned on the poor boy. "Maybe we should go back to the psycho's house…" Naruto suggested more to himself than anyone.

"Huh?" Hinata somewhat hummed, snapping out of her daze. Sai had been fed and she washed the bowl long ago, setting into the comforter next to her friend's.

"Remember the crazy dude next-door I was telling you guys about?" Naruto asked.

"Where are totaled car is parked, right?" Sai sarcastically grunted.

"Yup," Naruto grinned, shooting Sai a brief glare.

"Why the hell would we go there? You told us to stay away in the first place," Sai stated nonchalantly.

Naruto thought about that for a moment. "'Cause there's a dead guy that deserves some kind of proper burial."

"Let me get this straight, you want to go there to bury someone who's probably rotting and maybe get killed in the process, Naruto?" a familiar voice said, edging in from the hall.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, jumping to his feet. "You're alright!" He rushed to hug his friend who had just come out from being locked in solitude inside her own room.

Sakura made a disgusted face, prying Naruto off of her. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"So Ugly makes her appearance," Sai said, once again ruining the once somewhat peaceful atmosphere.

"Sai!!!" Sakura balled her fist and bopped him roughly over the head before plopping on the couch, still suffering from a slight limp. "So what's this about going to bury the dead guy?"

"Oh, well…I thought he deserved some burial so who better than us to give him a funeral!" the blonde grinned.

The rosette haired teen sighed, rubbing her temples. "Normally, I'd agree with you but Naruto, think of the circumstances…we could get killed."

"Don't you have any weapons?" Sai asked, a bit baffled at the idiocy of it all. Everyone he knew either had a gun or carried a pocketknife on them at all times. It was just the way society functioned.

Sakura and Naruto exchanged bewildered glances before answering in unison. "No."

"Should we?" Sakura added.

"Who would be dumb enough to…" Naruto started.

Sai dug into his pocket silently and pulled out his own pocketknife, which he still had because he didn't trust these dolts…mostly the blonde. It was always the dumb ones…

"Oh." Naruto shut his trap after that.

"W-Where we are f-from, it's normal t-to carry weapons," Hinata clarified. She nervously tucked a black strand behind her ear.

"Why?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side, obviously clueless. Most people would say that Naruto was playing dumb but the knucklehead was too dumb to do even that much. Sometimes, Sakura pondered the thought of Naruto being dropped on his head when he was a baby…from the top of a three-story building. Of course, the thought was dismissed since there was no way the dolt would even be alive after a plunge like that.

"Ugh, Naruto!" Sakura slapped her forehead.

_Maybe he was hit by a car on his way home from the hospital…_

"So we going or not?" Naruto grinned, waiting for Sakura's approval…like always.

"N-Naruto has a p-point. E-Everyone deserves a p-proper b-burial," Hinata stammered. "But it c-could b-be dangerous," she finished.

"I'm not moving," Sai stated as if it were the most basic thing in the world. Everyone suddenly remembered the poor bastard was suffering from a minor case of whiplash at the moment, some feeling a bit of remorse while Inner Sakura just internally flipped the man off, dooming the pompous teen to the pits of_

"Sakura-chan, you in there? Hello?" Naruto called, waving his hands right into her face, popping her personal bubble.

"Yes, idiot," Sakura growled, grasping his arm tightly, flinging it away.

"Are you going?" Naruto asked.

"Huh?"

"To bury the dead guy," Naruto answered.

"Hmm, oh, yeah…wait_"

"Then it's settled, Sakura, Hinata, and I will be going to bury the dead guy and the two Uchiha bastards will stay here and housesit!" Naruto announced dramatically.

_Oh boy…what have I just gotten myself into?_ Sakura mentally sighed. _So much for my college dreams…_

_Naruto-kun… _Hinata bit her lip nervously. _Maybe…maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…_

_I was wrong…they're all idiots… _Sai mused to himself.

"W-When are w-we going, N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stammered once again, unable to directly face said idiot, choosing to stare at her feet and twiddle her thumbs instead.

"Tonight!" Naruto answered immediately.

A few moments had elapsed before…

BAM! "Naruto, you idiot!"

"Ow, Sakura-chan," Naruto wailed, rubbing the newly formed red bump on his head, "why'd you do that?" He looked up, teary-eyed, but Sakura merely grumbled before crossing her arms impassively.

"Why the hell would we be going out at _night_!?" Sakura shouted. They would clearly be at a disadvantage, unable to see any possible threats let alone find their way back through a field that happened to lack a map or road signs.

"So he couldn't see us!" Naruto answered.

Another hit, another cry…it seemed routine nowadays.

"Ooooooow!" the blonde cried again, clutching his somewhat deformed head.

"Idiot, we wouldn't be able to see at all!"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that…heh heh," Naruto chuckled nervously, averting his eyes from his angry fellow innkeeper, scratching the back of his head.

"Ugh," Sakura groaned, raising her fist menacingly. The blonde instinctively shrunk away to the farthest corner of the room.

"S-Sakura-s-san, y-you're ankle," Hinata pointed out.

"Huh, oh," Sakura remembered, "it seemed to have fully healed just a little while ago." She shifted all of her weight on her once aching right ankle, feeling only a slight sting. It wasn't enough to make her limp though, thankfully.

"I-It wasn't a-as b-b-bad as we t-though," Hinata smiled.

"Guess you're right," Sakura said, glancing at her right ankle once again.

_I should be glad but I liked when he…ugh, Sakura get it together! You don't like that Uchiha bastard! He's a rich snob, a flipping rock star! Since when did you ever like that kind!?_

"Go tomorrow morning," Sai suddenly spoke, not bothering to look at the little group he dubbed "mercenaries" at the time, interrupting Sakura's thoughts. All eyes went to him, curious as to why he even bothered talking. He wasn't even accompanying them…though, in his current state, that would definitely prove to be a hassle as well as painful on Sai's part.

The younger twin to the "Uchiha bastard" shrugged. "If you go early enough, he may not even be up."

"Oh," the three echoed in unison.

"Come to think of it, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, apparently deep in thought, which certainly was a rare occurrence, "did we ever meet our neighbor?"

The rosette haired girl shook her head. They had never even _seen _him…or her…or it… Sakura couldn't even remember her parents ever mentioning the neighbor. Actually, they had said the place was vacant but she and Naruto were forbidden from stepping on the land. It was still considered trespassing.

Perhaps…staying off the land was for their own good. A predator was on their heels and maybe, it had been there all along…

"Then it's settled, we'll go at…dawn!" Naruto announced…again. No matter how much he tried, his efforts were futile. He would never be "cool".

With that, the blonde just plunked himself back on the couch to return to his ever so favorite pastime of channel surfing. Funny how he enjoyed surfing at the beach as well. Unfortunately, he hardly ever got the chance to go to Monterey anymore…

_Naruto…_

Tucking a strand of distinctive rosette behind her ear, the pallid skinned female merely joined her companion on the couch.

_Is this…to make up for the loss of his parents…?_

-

-

-

-

Sakura found herself tossing and turning underneath her sheets that night. Despite the hot and humid weather, she couldn't sleep without at least one leg resting under her bed sheets. It was an odd habit, yes, but everyone had some sort of quirk to them.

Slapping her forehead, the teen suffering from a slight case of insomnia, mostly likely the cause of the upcoming events tomorrow morning, lurched her body upward, swinging her body out of bed.

…_Ugh, can't sleep… I'll grab a snack from the kitchen or something…_

After adjusting her disheveled attire, she stepped out of her room, gently shutting the door behind her, not bothering to notice the red outline of the night's full moon.

Wandering down the seemingly long winding hallway, the teen couldn't help but stumble sideways every now and then. God, nerves were such a pain.

Fatigue finally set in.

_Maybe…just for a little while…I'll shut my eyes…_

Involuntarily, she shut her eyes, letting her unguided legs lead her through the darkness. Then, her moment of complete tranquility shattered the fateful moment she collided with an unknown force, causing her to fall back onto the floor.

That definitely knocked some sense into the poor girl, waking her up fully as well.

"Ow," Sakura grumbled, rubbing her now aching back.

"Hmph, maybe you should watch where you're going more often," a voice sneered. Instantly, it clicked in her head, matching the face with the speaker. She could practically see the smirk creeping on his lips.

"Sasuke," the female growled, staring up at the face hovering above her that now appeared to be so visible.

Wordlessly, he reached out to slide his fingers around her wrist, wrapping around her velvety flesh, pulling the astonished soul gently from the floor. She stumbled a bit, out of pure shock, and instead of merely falling back once again, she found her face against something soft…something warm and sturdy. The rosette haired girl squinted a bit in the darkness, trying to hone in on the thumping sound she had started hearing. Feeling a sudden hot breeze whisk by repeatedly over the back of her neck, making her hair stand up on end, she finally mustered the courage to look up at the man whose chest she had been leaning on.

"Comfortable?" Sasuke smirked, raising a dark brow.

Immediately, Sakura bounced back, tearing her body from the Uchiha bastard's grip. Biting her lip, she kept herself under control. At least she hadn't yelled at the guy…yet…

For a few moments, the two lingered in another uncomfortable silence, which seemed not so out-of-the-ordinary like it should've been.

"What are you doing out here?" Sasuke finally spoke.

She sent him her trademark glare. "I could ask you the same thing, Uchiha bastard," she snorted.

As usual, Sasuke kept his cool, smirking at the new nickname Sakura had just bestowed upon him. "Uchiha bastard? Is that a pet name you're giving me now?" Despite the darkness looming over the quarreling pair, Sakura could almost _see _the smile reflected in his eyes.

"And what if I am?" Sakura retorted, placing her hands on her hips.

Sasuke shrugged. "Sai calls you 'Ugly'. I could start using his nickname," Sasuke suggested.

A vein popped on Sakura's forehead. "Hell no!" she bellowed, rattling the entire house. "Oops…" Quickly, she slapped her hand to her mouth but it was already too late. Her thunderous voice already rang throughout the entire living area.

"Good going…Ugly," Sasuke sneered, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Hush up!"

"Hn."

The two waited for a moment for any sound of life, or angry early-risers awoken by a loud screeching female standing in the hall, but nothing came. It was just dead silence.

Sasuke turned his body away, shifting his eyes to the wall. "You never told me why you're out here…" he said in an unintended whisper.

"Huh?"

"You never told me why you were wandering the halls," Sasuke rephrased, louder this time.

"Oh. Uh…it's kind of complicated…" Sakura trailed off, fidgeting with her hair, keeping her eyes glued to the floor. Was it her or was the air a bit stiffening?

"I have time," Sasuke said evenly, leaning against the wall in a swift yet somehow graceful movement.

Sakura shot him a shocked look. He actually _wanted _to listen to her!? It seemed like the Uchiha bastard often switched from a cocky, know-it-all bastard-like personality to this sweet, quiet, teen who actually cared about her.

Frankly, it was creeping her out.

"Well…um…" Sakura couldn't find the right words to describe her fear. It was just so different than the normal frightened feeling she experienced every so often. The thought of going just across that meadow made Sakura tremble…they could…die…

"It's about tomorrow, right?" Sasuke interrupted.

"How do you know_?" Sakura started.

"The walls are hollow," Sasuke answered simply.

_Why can't he admit he was eavesdropping?_

"You're right," Sakura sighed at last, not bothering to argue about his undesired habits. At least he bothered to ask. "It's just…I don't know, I have this ominous feeling about tomorrow. Something bad is going to happen; I just know it."

Sasuke stood up to full height, examining the girl just a few paces away. She was different than before. Her fiery, indomitable spirit had diminished, had shriveled up into a small pile ash, her once flourishing pink locks losing their luster, now a disheveled mess upon her head. Even her skin had become pasty. Even with the overwhelming darkness, Sasuke could see this. The girl he had met just a few days ago had taken her leave, a weak damsel-in-distress in her place.

Inadvertently, Sasuke's fist had balled itself into a fist, his knuckles changing into an unhealthy, pasty white.

He _hated _her like this. He _hated _weak people. He _hated _her.

…

…

…

No, he _hated _himself for always being so strong, always shrouding himself in darkness.

"_Sasuke-kun." _That voice, as beautiful as a thousand wind chimes, haunted him.

"_Sasuke-kun!" _It stung like a thousand sharp rosebush vines, wrapped under a blanket of razor-sharp thorns.

"_Sasuke-kun, I…I lov_" _

He tore himself from that memory, averting his full attention to the present.

_They're were so much alike, Sakura and__

"Sasuke-kun?"

His blood red eyes snapped to the young woman now worriedly touching his arm, hoping to comfort him. Her hand slid off his muscled, bare arm and back to her side.

He breathed a sigh of relief, shutting his eyes briefly before reopening them. They resumed the onyx hue they had often held.

"Are you alright?" Sakura continued, her green eyes reflecting the same concern her quivering voice held.

"Hn."

Sakura huffed, puffing up her cheeks immaturely, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well Mr. Uchiha, I'd say you're perfectly fine," she retorted, adding in, "bastard," under her breath.

"Sakura," Sasuke spoke calmly, despite the monsoon thundering inside of him. "If you need," he paused to glance down at her eager face. "Ugh, never mind." He began down the hall at an amazingly quick pace.

"Hey, wait! What were you going to say, Sasuke-kun!?" Sakura chased after the retreating fellow, her anger and worry easing off every moment she was with the older Uchiha.

As he rounded to his room, he felt a small hand grasp around his forearm tightly, unable to wind its fingers fully around. He twisted his body around to meet the eyes of none other than: a determined Sakura Haruno, ready for some answers.

"Finish what you were going to say," she growled, grinding her teeth.

He smirked. "And what if I don't want to?" he challenged.

She forcibly shoved him against the wall. "Then I'll pin you down until you do."

"Is that a challenge?"

Now, the Haruno smiled. "And what if it is?" she teased.

"You can't overpower me."

"Is that so?"

Sakura twisted Sasuke's arm back, swinging the Uchiha off his feet, sending him hurtling towards the wall. With a large thump, the older of the pompous Uchiha twins found himself pinned under the tiny Sakura Haruno. She smirked at the victory but little did she know that the battle was just beginning. With a summoned burst of energy, the Uchiha turned the tables, twisting the feisty teen below him, both knees bordering her thighs.

Feeling the sides of his mouth twist, he couldn't resist smirking at his victory. He was eager for the pink-haired girl to swallow her big words.

"What was that about being stronger than me?"

"Hmph!" _Great, now I'm starting to sound like him._

Reluctantly, she met his gaze and, for reasons unknown, her heart started racing. His smoldering gaze penetrated any and every defense she possessed in seconds. Her face heated up instantly when she realized the predicament she had just gotten herself into.

"Uh…you're on my…" she started.

Sasuke glanced to his side and felt a small blush dust across his cheeks. "Sorry!" He instantly sat up, letting the girl below him blink a few times before sitting back up.

As the redness gathered in her cheeks faded, she couldn't help but laugh. Sasuke, the biggest bastard on the face of the planet, helped her forget the apprehension that had been feeding on her insides, even if for just a moment.

Shifting her gaze to the quietly flustered man, Sakura whispered, "Arigatou, Sasuke-kun." Curious onyx eyes stared, bewildered, at the normally, uncouth young woman.

"For what?" he couldn't help but ask.

"For making me forget," she smiled softly.

And with that, the grateful maiden stood up and departed for her room, wishing Sasuke, "Good night," before disappearing into her room.

Sighing, Sasuke tousled his hair before mumbling something incoherent, also deciding to get a few more hours of sleep.

**Episode 03: End**

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**Another reader's choice... What event would you rather see happen in chapter five?**

**A) Naruto crashes his truck and he (and Hinata) are stranded miles away from home for the night.**

**B) Sakura accidentally locks herself (and Sasuke) in the shed in the fields (yes, it belongs to Naruto and Sakura).**

**C) Sai (whose neck is feeling better finally) decides to tamper with the possible couples and puts them in quite a few embarrassing situations.**

**A, B, or C, it's your choice and REVIEW!!! It's only cause of you guys I updated. The more the better because I feel the pressure to update and therefore, I update faster. Hopefully, I'm out of my writer's block. 10 reviews would be nice, especially if you want to revisit the scarecrow in the fields and meet the neighbor...**


	4. Chapter 4: Dead or Alive Part I

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...yeah, I still don't.

**Sorry, this chapter's shorter but I'm splitting the scarecrow thing into two sections. Still, it's got what a lot of people have been waiting for: the identity of the psycho killer neighbor and no, it's not an OC! Crud, I think I gave it away but read ahead and enjoy~**

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**Episode 04: Dead or Alive Part I**

"Sakura-chan, why is _he _coming?" Naruto groaned, pointing at the raven-haired city kid standing outside on their porch.

"Naruto, he volunteered. We need all the help we can get. Who knows what we're dealing with," Sakura answered, repeating herself for the umpteenth time today.

"I get that," Naruto started, just contradicting the question he asked moments ago, "but why does he get the shotgun?"

It was true, Sasuke had been bestowed the shotgun kept in a glass case in the basement by Sakura's dad incase of dangerous wildlife. At this time, the Uchiha had it tucked comfortably under his arm, wearing a confident mask.

"Because you're mistake prone, Dobe."

"Teme!" And once again, the two were engulfed in yet another glaring contest. Sighing, rubbing her aching temples, Sakura yanked the blonde away, leading him down the wooden steps leading into the long, winding field.

Noticing Sasuke start down as well, Hinata waved to Sai, who had regained his ability to walk, stumbling a bit, nervousness biting at her insides. Sai conjured up his fake smile and waved to the meek girl. In all honesty, he hoped they wouldn't fair all too well, except Hinata, since she was the only genuine person he knew. Frankly, he just didn't care. Having the house to himself wasn't such a bad thought…

The four stopped at the edging of the meadow, all secretly swallowing the anxiety that made their body tremble.

"Here, Hinata can have the flashlight," Sakura said, handing the small heiress the rather hefty flashlight being carried in case they stayed out too long. "I'll keep the jackknife and Naruto, you're carrying the shovel." Naruto sighed. He wanted the gun, not the goddamn shovel. Seeing the disappointed look evident in the hyperactive "Greek god's" (according to Hinata) cerulean eyes, Sakura added bluntly, "It was your idea so you're burying the guy."

With that, Sakura led the group into what could be their last departure into the field. Sasuke kept to himself, gluing himself to the right side of Sakura while Naruto, clutching the shovel defensively, covered the left side leaving Hinata to trail behind.

Like they had planned, the group departed just before sunrise, the sky painted with various hues of oranges, reds, pink, and purples. The yellow blades of grass towered above the group, scratching at their bare arms lightly. Except for the hymns sang by the crickets and the cawing of the birds, nothing seemed to stir, the meadow completely vacant except for the four wanders.

"Which way was the _dead _guy?" Sasuke asked, exasperated. He heard the story but still believed it was a hoax, probably on the farmer's part. They probably just saw a scarecrow that scared them, yeah, that sounded right…

Shooting him her trademark, "Shut up or die," glare, Sakura answered, "we aren't sure but we think it was halfway between our property and," she shivered, "his property."

"Hey, maybe he hides bodies in his shed and uses them as scarecrows later!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto!"

"Heh, gomen Sakura-chan."

Suddenly, a gentle sound erupted from just ahead, making everyone immediately tense up and freeze. The sound persisted, seeming to quickly near and right when the grass next to them shifted just a little, it stopped.

"Sa_"

"Shh!" Sakura glanced up at Sasuke who, at the time, had the gun poised at the hidden intruder. Naruto, deciding to substitute the shovel for a baseball bat, jumped in front of the tremulous Hinata.

"Come out, now, or I'll shoot," Sasuke threatened steadily, switching off the safety switch.

A few seconds passed. Nothing happened.

The Uchiha walked forward, still holding the gun in front of him. His eyes were pitch black, narrowed dangerously low.

"Sasuke_!" He hushed her with a fierce look before turning back to the grass he was approaching.

Sakura couldn't breathe. Everything, time, day, the rising sun…it all stopped. She could hear her heart thumping in her chest, banging against her ribcage, begging to be set free from this severe trepidation. Her hand instinctively flew to her pocket where the jackknife was secured, gripping the firm handle. Still, her joints wouldn't stop shaking.

With the muzzle of the gun, Sasuke shifted the grass slowly and…nothing was there. It was completely hushed.

"M-Maybe it was the wind," Naruto tried, chuckling. His nerves were starting to affect him.

"L-Let's keep g-going," Hinata stammered.

Nodding, Sakura replied, "Hai." She noticed Sasuke was still standing, rifle in hand, staring down at the vacant ground. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she felt his body jolt a little, his head snapping to her.

"Come on, nothing's there."

After glancing back at the spot, Sasuke tucked the gun under his arm before following after Sakura, slowly maneuvering back into his guard position to her right. This time, Naruto stood side-by-side with Hinata, who had taken the lead blindly.

For what seemed like hours, the group continued, unaware that they were in fact, quickly approaching their destination. By this time, the sun had fully risen and unlike most days, clouds huddled into clumps in the sky, lazily moving along. And unlike most days, the sky was painted gray.

Sasuke had to admit, he was wrong…that was a first. Indeed, hanging high on the decaying stake was a deceased man. With his head down low, hanging, his expression was unseen and remained that way. His hands were blue, drained, nails driven through his opened palms. His legs, surprisingly, were left dangling, insects investigating the body, inside and out. The odor quickly leaked into the air, making everyone wheeze, pinching their noses.

"Oh my god!" Naruto groaned. Sakura, trying to not let her eyes and mind linger too much on the body just in front of them, nudged her friend roughly. It was _his_ idea. "Alright, alright, I'm going!" He poised the shovel just above the ground.

"Idiot, we aren't burying him here!" Sakura all but screeched.

"What!? Then where_!?"

"We aren't carrying him to the house," Sasuke interjected.

"T-Then w-what_?"

"Shut up!" Sakura yelled above all the comments. All eyes snapped to her. Putting her hands on her hips, she said, "We'll bury here, okay, but we should pull out the grass and give him a clean spot."

The group nodded in agreement, all wishing to get this over with as quickly as possible. Hinata started to pluck the grass while Sasuke and Sakura reluctantly started to unsnarl the man from the stake.

Sasuke was forced to place the gun on the ground.

Sakura volunteered to hold the stake while Sasuke pulled out the nails. Swallowing any fear his body held, the Uchiha raised his sweating arm, slowly maneuvering his fingers around the flathead of the rusted nail. He met the nervous stare of the girl below him before fully gripping the nail. With one yank of the arm, the metal spike was out, no blood gushing from the wound. Instead, something worse oozed out.

Maggots.

"Ew!" Sakura shrieked, stepping back, watching in horror as the grimy, little parasites squirmed on the tanned dirt. Though he didn't scream, Sasuke's breathing halted for a second. After looking at the corroded edges of the single nail, he tossed it into the unknown territory ahead.

He turned to the petrified girl, smirking. "Scared?"

"N-No, of course not!"

Sakura stepped up, resuming her firm hold on the wooden stake. "Come on or," Sakura paused, a sly grin creeping on her face, "are you chicken?"

Silently, the Uchiha took her challenge and swiftly removed the second bolt and discarded it callously. While his head was turned, the lifeless corpse fell forward, right into Sakura, knocking her to the ground. Her eyes widened as she realized something was terribly wrong. His eyes…his eyes were gone! Empty sockets, maggots seeping out, were there instead.

"Ah…" her body trembled, "ah," her mind froze, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The piercing scream sent crows flying above, grass rattling throughout the lethal meadow.

Sasuke instinctively flew to her side, as did Naruto, both tugging Sakura out from under the corpse, the maggots sliding down her ashen shirt. She stumbled clumsily to her feet, desperately brushing the insects from her clothing.

"The hole's ready…I think…" Naruto informed quietly.

"I-I p-pulled out the g-grass too," Hinata stuttered.

"I'll throw him in," Sasuke managed evenly. Still, his knees were shaking from inside his jeans. Hinata went to comfort the trembling Sakura while Sasuke went to inspect the hole. It was wide, not too deep but at this point, Sasuke was more than ready to finish up the job.

The four gathered around, all as shaken as their neighbor, some more reluctant than others to admit it.

"S-Shouldn't we s-say a few w-words," Hinata suggested meekly.

"Uh…what's-his-name was a good guy and will be missed very much _ alright, let's go," Naruto rushed. With the anxious blonde, Sasuke gripped the man's feet while Naruto took the shoulders. Together, they hoisted him into the hole while the girls kicked the dug up dirt back in. The deed was done.

A sigh of relief could finally be taken with ease.

"Now that that's done," Naruto grinned, brushing off the grime from his hands.

"Um…" Hinata stammered, "where is the g-gun…?" All eyes whipped to the now empty spot where Sasuke had rested the shotgun. Indeed, the Hyuga was right; all that was left was a vacant spot.

"See!? You should have given the gun to me!" Naruto yelled.

"Damn it! Where is it!?" Sasuke cursed as he violently searched for the missing rifle.

Sakura and Hinata, as alarmed as the other two, couldn't conjure up any words but also aided in the search for the weapon.

And then, suddenly, a single shot was fired, annihilating the serenity the meadow once held, shattering the group's relief into smithereens.

"That sounded close by!" Sakura shouted in a hushed whisper.

"Get down!" Sasuke commanded, using his weight to push Sakura to the ground, leaving Naruto and Hinata to follow suit.

Their eyes darted in every direction as only their heavy breathing chorused in the stifling air. Footsteps sounded, grass and dirt crunching as it approached. By the sound of it, whoever it was _ whatever it was _ was coming quick.

"We need to split up," Sakura whispered, glancing sternly at Sasuke and Naruto. "I'll go with Sasuke. Naruto, take Hinata and go back to the house, Sasuke and I will stall."

"B-But_" Naruto started to object.

"She's right. Take Hinata and get out of here. We'll be fine…dobe."

Reluctantly, Naruto bit his tongue until it bled, leaving the rusted aftertaste to haunt his mouth.

"On three," Sakura started, "Three."

"Two," Sasuke continued, pushing his knees and elbows so that they elevated from the ground.

"One!"

All four jumped to their feet and Naruto grabbed Hinata's slim wrist, his entire hand wrapping around it, pulling her in the opposite direction of the bare stake. Sakura and Sasuke turned to the right of the stake, knowing the perpetrator was to their left. Soon enough, like Sakura had hoped, Naruto and Hinata were on their way back to the inn.

Now it was up to them…

"I see, so that's how it is, eh?" the silhouette hissed in amusement, holding the stolen rifle in his left hand.

Pushing through the blades of grass, letting dry edges tear at their skin, Sasuke and Sakura stayed together as they sprinted blindly through the field, letting their feet take them as far away as possible. The moment Sakura first stumbled, Sasuke's hand automatically flew back and grasped her wrist, pulling her up, refusing to let go even after the fact.

There was no way he was going to die and there was no way in **hell **he was going to let Sakura get killed because he was too weak to protect her. _Never again…_

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke spotted a hint of a brown blur and automatically decided to take the risk of seeing what it was and with one sharp tug, he dragged Sakura with him. Breathing heavily, they stopped abruptly at the foot of a broken-down, wooden mill, abandoned by the looks of things.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"We'll hide here for now," he said, pulling her inside.

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"Naruto-kun," Hinata panted, too exhausted to stutter. "Are they really going to be okay?" she asked, her voice consumed with the worry and dread eating at her.

Clenching his fist, biting his tongue until it bled, he held back the yell he so desperately wanted to howl into the never-ending maze of grass and dead weeds. "Yeah," he bit out, glaring up into the oddly grey sky above, "they'll be fine. I just know it."

Finally standing back on her feet, she helped Naruto into the house, glancing back at the empty field.

_I hope you're right…Naruto-kun…_

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Sakura couldn't help but shiver as she huddled into the small crevice with Sasuke, her eyes hesitantly meeting the silver gleam of the saw hovering above their heads. She squinted just to see the edge of the blade, their hiding place a tad too dark for their liking.

"Is this really a_"

"Shh!" With that, he clamped his hand over her mouth. The two barely fit into the corner but it would due. Hopefully, the intruder in the fields wouldn't find them here. He wouldn't find them here…right…?

Suddenly, the wooden door from the other side of what appeared to be an old saw mill creaked open. Both froze in place, unknowingly linking hands in the process.

Was this…the end…? Clamping her eyes shut, the girl wished over and over that this was just a bad dream and that she would wake up. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case in the slightest. Rather, she was living a nightmare.

A pair of heavy boots clanked raucously against the straw-littered ground, slowly moving about the mill, shadowed eyes searching for his next prey. His pallid hands began violently knocking things about, not a sound erupting from the intruder's lips as he did so.

Anxiety grew more evident as with every loud noise, their bodies jolted, limbs frozen in terror.

"Found you," a venomous, playful voice whispered, making Sakura's head whip. Emerald irises dilated as they clashed with the prowler's own golden pair.

_Snake…_ His eyes, they reminded her of the python that hunted around the inn's premises for a few months, leaving a bloody trail behind.

Sasuke slammed his body into Sakura's pushing her out of the stranger's path, beckoning for her to run. "Go!" he ordered as she stumbled to her feet, her eyes glimpsing back to see the man pull out a shot gun from his pocket.

"Leave and consider your precious Sasuke-kun dead," he cooed, taking the trembling boy's chin between his fingers, aligning the rifle against Sasuke's ear. Sakura halted, swerving herself around. She wouldn't run away, she _couldn't_…

"Ah, what a good little girl," he chuckled, licking his lips as he dropped Sasuke's chin, tucking the rifle under his arm. Grinning, he removed his brown hat, raven locks swirling around his ghostly skin. "You saved your friend, Sakura-chan."

"W-Who are you and how do you know our names!?" Sakura queried frantically, rushing to Sasuke's aid. They both stared up at the towering figure above them.

"It's nice to make your acquaintance, my name is Orochimaru and I would be your next-door-neighbor. You have something of mine and I would like it back." His piercing eyes sent chills down Sakura's spine as she clutched Sasuke's arm tightly. "If you can't do just that then," he licked his lips again, "you will suffer dire consequences. So then, what will it be?"

"Why don't you dig it up yourself!?" Sasuke spat. "You were the one that killed him!"

Sakura pulled Sasuke back, preventing him from attacking the man called Orochimaru. She dared to look up, afraid that the gun would be shot at either her or Sasuke but, rather than that, she was met with another fit of maniacal laughter.

"That's true but he was _my _property and I believe you took my property without my consent. That would be called stealing, my dear Sasuke-kun."

Growling, Sasuke bit his tongue from retorting, his onyx eyes lighting to a fiery shade of crimson, much to Sakura's surprise.

_Those eyes, where have I_?_

"Sakura-chan!" a familiar rough voice echoed. All heads snapped to the door left hanging ajar, still vacant. Sasuke and Sakura exchanged worried glances, knowing full well who was wandering the fields.

_Naruto!_

Inwardly, Sakura wished desperately for him to turn back but as the calls grew louder with every waking moment, she knew that wasn't the case.

"It looks like we have a visitor," Orochimaru smiled, gripping his rifle, pulling it out from under his arm. With that, he breezed out of the mill silently, coattails whipping behind him, leaving Sasuke and Sakura enveloped in darkness as the door swung shut.

And then in a few seconds, a shot rang through the fields. A single thought registered through Sakura's head.

"NARUTO!"

**Episode 04: End**

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**And there you have it, the identity of the murderer. And Naruto just has to save the day and then, some weirdo comes out and shoots him! Okay, maybe he's not shot...or maybe he is... Oh well, you are gonna have to wait and see.**

**Review, Review, REVIEW IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!! I'm not holding this story up for randsom or anything but reviews are appreciated and I'm making a section dedicated to reviewers after every chapter from now on. Oh, and the votes. Yes, the poll will be going until the end of the next chapter when this arc ends. Refer to chapter 3 for the choices and you can vote for 2. If you voted, sorry, but you have to wait until the next poll. But if others vote, your choice might be chosen.**

**So far:**

**A- 1 (where's the love?)**

**B- 6 (This is a SASU/SAKU story after all :)**

**C- 5 (Wow, close battle)**

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

**_Emerald+Onyx=Luv:_ I don't like Karin either, believe me, it's on my profile with some funny song thing I copied and pasted. And no, it's not Karin he's comparing Sakura too. Karin's not even gonna be in this so you can rest at ease.**

**_LoveIsMyHate: _Thanks:) And Sasu/Saku is sure to come no matter what! By the way, thanks for voting.**

**_TwiLigHT8D: _Yep, I updated and I plan to monthly if possible. Thanks for voting.**

**_loveless kunoichi: _You like the sadistic Sai, huh or are you a fan of both couples? Personally, I like tampering with Sai's personality, it's fun:) Thanks for voting still!**

**_bizzie09: _Don't worry, Sasuke/Sakura moments are sure to come, just keep reading and reviewing!**

**_freak-4-God: _Seriously, thanks for reviewing AND for voting! I like hearing opinions so I can make this story even better.**

**_Sakurachan623:_ I'm glad you like it and C would be fun to write and I would make it VERY funny:D**

**_Dimly:_ Thanks for the vote, it helped C catch up with B.**

**_sock monkeys:_ It's okay! I'll count both! B and C are practically tied!**

**_HanaJimaa:_ Yay, I updated! Thanks for the vote!**

**_EdwardIs4Me:_ B it is and thanks, I really do plan on continuing to write this story so keep reviewing, please!**

**Hope I didn't forget anyone! It's late and I'm really tired so please tell me if I forgot you or miscounted!**


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